Williams-Sonoma earnings fall 42%

Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Wednesday that fiscal first-quarter profit fell 42% after the home furnishings retailer reduced prices to lure shoppers.

Net income in the three months ended May 4 fell to $10.4 million, or 10 cents a share, from $18.2 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier, San Francisco-based Williams-Sonoma said. Earnings excluding one-time items beat analysts’ predictions by 4 cents.

Revenue in the quarter dropped 4.2% to $781.8 million.

For the year, Williams-Sonoma forecast profit of $1.45 to $1.58 a share, higher than its previous range of $1.42 to $1.56. But sales may fall to as low as $3.74 billion, compared with an earlier forecast of at least $3.79 billion, it said.

Williams-Sonoma shares fell $1.17, or 4.7%, to $23.82.